Theodor Nöldeke (; born 2 March 1836 – 25 December 1930) was a German
orientalist and scholar. His research interests ranged over
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
studies, Semitic languages and Arabic, Persian and Syriac literature. Nöldeke translated several important works of oriental literature and during his lifetime was considered an important orientalist. He wrote numerous studies (including on the Qur’ān) and contributed articles to the
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
.
Among the projects Nöldeke collaborated on was
Michael Jan de Goeje
Michael Jan de Goeje (August 13, 1836 – May 17, 1909) was a Dutch orientalist focusing on Arabia and Islam.
Early life
Michael Jan de Goeje was born in Dronrijp, Friesland. He devoted himself at an early age to the study of oriental lan ...
’s published edition of
al-Tabari
( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...
's ''Tarikh'' ("Universal History"), for which he translated the
Sassanid
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
-era section. This translation remains of great value, particularly for the extensive supplementary commentary.
His numerous students included
Charles Cutler Torrey,
Louis Ginzberg and
Friedrich Zacharias Schwally. He entrusted Schwally with the continuation of his standard work "The History of the
Qur’ān
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sin ...
".
Biography
Nöldeke was born in
Harburg, (Hamburg today). In 1853 he graduated from the Gymnasium Georgianum
Lingen
Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2008, its population was 52,353, and in addition there were about 5,000 people who registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" is ...
,
Emsland, and went on to study at the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
under
Heinrich Ewald
Georg Heinrich August Ewald (16 November 18034 May 1875) was a German orientalist, Protestant theologian, and Biblical exegete. He studied at the University of Göttingen. In 1827 he became extraordinary professor there, in 1831 ordinary profess ...
, and later at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
, the
University of Leiden
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...
and the
Humboldt University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
. In 1864 he became a professor at the
University of Kiel
Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...
and from 1872 at the
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers.
The French university traces its history to the ea ...
until he retired aged 70.
Nöldeke had ten children, six of whom predeceased him. His son Arnold Nöldeke became a judge and was a Hamburg senator during the
Weimar period
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
. He died in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
.
Distinctions
*1859 – won the French ''
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions ( epig ...
'' prize for his ''Histoire du Coran'' and ''Semitic languages, and the history and civilization of Islam''.
*1860 – ''Geschichte des Qorâns'' German edition published with additions at Göttingen.
*1861 – lectures at the university of Göttingen.
*1864 – extraordinary professor at the university of Göttingen.
*1868 – ordinary professor at
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
; ''Grammatik der neusyrischen Sprache'' published.
*1872 – chair of
Oriental Languages
A wide variety of languages are spoken throughout Asia, comprising different language families and some unrelated isolates. The major language families include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Caucasian, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Tur ...
at
Strassburg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the E ...
, (resigns in 1906).
*1874 – ''Mandäische Grammatik'' published.
*1878 – Foreign member of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...
*1879 – external member of the
Bavarian Academy of Sciences
The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften) is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledg ...
.
*1881–1882 – translates
Tabari
( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...
(
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
–
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
).
*1888 – member of the
Order Pour le Mérite
The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...
for Sciences and Arts.
*1892 – awarded an honorary doctorate by the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
.
*1893 – appointed external member of the
Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei
The Accademia dei Lincei (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed", but anglicised as the Lincean Academy) is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rom ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
*1920 – associate member of the
Heidelberg Academy of Sciences
The Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (German: ''Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften''), established in 1909 in Heidelberg, Germany, is an assembly of scholars and scientists in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
The Academ ...
.
*1926 – awarded honorary membership of the
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
–he had been a corresponding member since 1885; Honorary citizen of the city of Harburg (now part of Hamburg).
Selected works
*''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'', several early essays and article on the Qur'an, with others, republished in the journal ''Oriental Sketches''.
*
Geschichte des Qorâns' (1860;
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
, Dieterich, 2nd rev. ed., 1909–38
pt. 1pt.2 ; English translation by Wolfgang H. Behn: ''The History of the Qurʾān'', Leiden: Brill 2013)
*
Das Leben Mohammeds' ("Life of Muḥammad", German text; Hanover, Rümpler, 1863)
*
Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Poesie der alten Araber'. (Hanover, Carl Rümpler, 1864)
* ''Die alttestamentliche Literatur'' (1868)
*
Untersuchungen zur Kritik des Alten Testaments' (1869)
*
*
*
Histoire Littéraire de L'ancien Testament'; French (Paris, Sandoz et Fischbacher, 1873)
*
Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden. Aus der arabischen Chronik des Tabari übersetzt' (1879)
*
**
***
*
*
* Review of
Julius Wellhausen
Julius Wellhausen (17 May 1844 – 7 January 1918) was a German biblical scholar and orientalist. In the course of his career, he moved from Old Testament research through Islamic studies to New Testament scholarship. Wellhausen contributed to t ...
's ''Reste Arabischen Heidentums'' (1887) in ZDMG, Vol. 41 (1887), pp. 707–26.
*
Aufsätze zur persischen Geschichte' (Leipzig, 1887); articles on
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
*
Sketches from Eastern History' (London & Edinburgh, Adam And Charles Black, 1892)
*
A Servile War in the East [The Zanj Slave Uprising in 9th Century Mesopotamia]' (English transl., John Sutherland Black; appeared as Chap. 5 in ''Sketches from Eastern History''; 1892)
*
Iranische Nationalepos' (Strassburg: Trübner, 1896).
* ''Zur Grammatik des klassischen Arabisch'' (1896)
* ''Fünf Mo'allaqat, übersetzt und erklärt'' (1899–1901)
* Articles in the ''
Encyclopaedia Biblica
''Encyclopaedia Biblica: A Critical Dictionary of the Literary, Political and Religion History, the Archeology, Geography and Natural History of the Bible'' (1899), edited by Thomas Kelly Cheyne and J. Sutherland Black, is a critical encyclopedi ...
'' (1903)
* ''Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft'' (1904)
* ''Kalila wa Dimna'' (Strassburg, Trübner, 1912)
*
Israel und die Völker nach jüdischer Lehre' co-authored by August Wünsche; ed., Joseph S Bloch; (Berlin, Wien, 1922)
He contributed frequently to the ''
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft
The ''Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft'' (English: "Journal of the German Oriental Society") is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering Oriental studies, published by Harrassowitz Verlag on behalf of the Deutsche Morgen ...
'', the ''
Göttingische gelehrte Anzeigen'' and the ''Expositor''.
Nöldeke Chronology
The Nöldeke Chronology is a "canonical ordering" of the 114
suras of the Qur'an according to the sequence of revelation. Intended to aid theological, literary, and historical scholarship of Qur'anic exegesis by enhancing structural coherence. The Nöldeke Chronology has been adopted for general guidance by some schools of current scholarship. The Egyptian Edition, crafted 1924, is an adaptation of Nöldeke's work. Nöldeke considered the suras from the perspective of content and stylistic development and linguistic origination to rearrange them in historical sequence of revelation. According to his system Sura 21: “The Prophets,” – 21st of 114 suras in the Qur'an – is renumbered '65'. His chronology further divided the suras into two periods: The Meccan (in three phases), and the Medina.
The Nöldeke Chronology of the Qur'an: Four groups of the 114 Suras:
*Group 1. First
Meccan Period (48 Suras):
Surahs 96;
74;
111;
106;
108 108 may refer to:
* 108 (number)
* AD 108, a year
* 108 BC, a year
* 108 (artist) (born 1978), Italian street artist
* 108 (band), an American hardcore band
* 108 (emergency telephone number), an emergency telephone number in several states in Ind ...
;
104;
107;
102 102 may refer to:
* 102 (number), the number
* AD 102, a year in the 2nd century AD
* 102 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
* 102 (ambulance service), an emergency medical transport service in Uttar Pradesh, India
* 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron, Royal ...
;
105;
92;
90;
94;
93;
97;
86;
91;
80;
68;
87;
95;
103;
85;
73;
101;
99;
82;
81;
53;
84;
100;
79;
77;
78;
88;
89;
75;
83;
69;
51;
52;
56;
70;
55;
112 112 may refer to:
*112 (number), the natural number following 111 and preceding 113
*112 (band), an American R&B quartet from Atlanta, Georgia
**112 (album), ''112'' (album), album from the band of the same name
*112 (emergency telephone number), t ...
;
109;
113 113 may refer to:
*113 (number), a natural number
*AD 113, a year
* 113 BC, a year
*113 (band), a French hip hop group
* 113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route
* 113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run ...
;
114;
1
*Group 2.
Second Meccan Period (21 Suras): 54; 37; 71; 76; 44; 50; 20; 26; 15; 19; 38; 36; 43; 72; 67; 23; 21; 25; 17; 27; 18
*Group 3.
Third Meccan Period (21 Suras): 32; 41; 45; 16; 30; 11; 14; 12; 40; 28; 39; 29; 31; 42; 10; 34; 35; 7; 46; 6; 13
*Group 4.
Medinan Period (24 Suras): 2; 98; 64; 62; 8; 47; 3; 61; 57; 4; 65; 59; 33; 63; 24; 58; 22; 48; 66; 60; 110; 49; 9; 5
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
History of Sasanian's State*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noldeke, Theodor
1836 births
1930 deaths
German orientalists
German biblical scholars
German male non-fiction writers
Grammarians from Germany
History of Quran scholars
Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
Leiden University alumni
Linguists from Germany
Old Testament scholars
People from Harburg, Hamburg
Syriacists
Translators of the Quran into German
University of Göttingen alumni
University of Vienna alumni
Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)
Shahnameh Researchers
Scholars of Mandaeism
Translators from Mandaic
Grammarians of Aramaic
Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities